Familial Bonds
by EquusGold
Summary: In which Thorin and his family face all sorts of trials and tribulations. Ultimately it is their strength both as individuals and a family that pull them through. Series of one-shots. Prompts requested. Kind of a mix-bag of Durin family, potential for anything to happen. Sequel of sorts to my One-shot 'Everything isn't Everything' Angst Humour Family Action; Something for everyone!
1. I'm Not Crying - HurtComfort

Familial Bonds

I'm Not Crying!

**The first two lines of dialogue have been haunting me for the last three days so I kind of just threw the down here and look where it went! Please read and review!**

**Thanks Knowing Grace for your endless support!**

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"What _are_ you doing?"

"What do you mean what am I doing? What does it look like I'm doing?" Soren said taking another swing at the wooden post with the stick.

"You're being destructive." Thorin said with arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

"That about sums it up." This time the swing was powerful and the sound it made echoed. Soren shook on of her hands free of the reverberations.

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Soren…" he growled. "Just tell me."

"Why should I?" She sassed back.

"Why not?" Thorin played along with a higher pitched voice.

"Yeah… don't do that. It's weird."

"Stop stalling," Soren turned around and faced him, leaning on the long, heavy stick. "You know I'll drag it out of you eventually."

The sigh that she exhaled was far too heavy and deep for one of her age, and her eyes took on a kind of old sadness. He imagined that it was a look he himself had worn many times before.

"People were making comments about my mother," Soren admitted at last. Thorin took in a hasty gulp of breath and blinked his eyes quickly several times.

"And…"

"They weren't nice comments," Soren cast her head down but not before her father got a glimpse of the heavy tear drops the welled within her eyes. "And there was nothing I could say to defend her because _I never knew her_."

Thorin moved to her in silence and folded the young dwarrowdam into his warm embrace, resting his chin on top of her – though nowadays it was quite a stretch to do so.

"Don't cry little fox; you're mother never _could _abide by tears," he hummed into her hair in a soothing way, feeling her relax into his body.

"'not crying," she grumbled, though there was a definite hitch in her voice. After another long moment she pulled away, though she remained standing close beside her father, seeking comfort from the closeness. "Why'd she have to go Da?"

Soren gazed up at him with those silver eyes that were just like _hers, _only his daughter's were filled with tears that wavered on the very edge of falling. She drew close again and laid her head on his chest. She sniffed once, twice, but no tears fell.

"Because she loved you so much that she was willing to die for you before she even met you," Thorin said gently, running a hand through her mop of black hair, his fingers deftly untangling the knots that seemingly always present.

"That's silly," Soren mumbled and she felt a brief rumble off laughter well within her father's chest.

"Perhaps one day you'll understand." Was his response, to which Soren wrinkled her nose before she sighed heavily once again.

"How can I miss someone so much, when I never knew them?" It was a plaintive plea that almost broke his heart all over again.

"In the same way she loved you so much without knowing you," His thumb crept in and wiped a traitorous tear from the corner of her eye. "Mothers and their children have an incredible bond, one that can never truly be severed."

"Does it ever get easier?" He knew that Soren was referring to his own losses; his grandparents, parents, brother. All of them gone before their time.

"No," He told her gently. "But you learn to handle it."

"How?"

"That, little fox, you have to discover for yourself."

"You just went from sage-like to annoying in two sentences. Congratulations." Soren pulled away with a wry look on her face.

Thorin just smiled in response.

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**A/N **

**I'm becoming obsessed with one-shots haha. I hope you like this one, it's a bit on the doom and gloom side but hey, I did say this was going to be a mixed bag didn't I?**

**Still looking for prompts!**

**Please read and review! Seriously, just do it, for once. I reply and everything XD**

**Oh hey, I posted a new one-shot simply titled BIFUR. That should pretty much tell you everything you need to know. Go read *makes shooing gestures***


	2. Camping (With Fili and Kili!) Part One

EquusGold Familial Bonds

Camping (with Fili and Kili) Part 1

**Thanks to SkyBlue who provided the prompt for this one shot - Featuring a protective Thorin or in which Thorin comes to the rescue of his troublesome nephews or daughter.**

**Soren is eleven, Fili forty-one and Kili is thirty-six.**

**I've decided to split this into two parts :D**

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It is mid-autumn and the first heavy rains of the year are yet to come. Fili and Kili are restless; between working and training they have had hardly a spare minute to themselves. They, along with Dis and Thorin, are working longer hours than ever to try and get ahead, to try and keep ample food on the table. But it's a seemingly never ending battle.

But now Thorin has forced the brothers to take two days off. They funny thing is though, that the brothers have no idea what to do with their suddenly surplus spare time. At that moment the lads were sitting in front of the cold hearth, bickering over what to do.

Kili, nature-loving free spirit that he was, wished to go hunting and enjoy some well-deserved peace and quiet after the overwhelming clamour of the forges day in and day out. He thought it would give them more time to spend together, as brothers, without someone breathing down their necks all the time.

Fili wished to linger about the town, being infinitely more responsible that his younger sibling. He knew that their help could be needed at any moment so he wanted to enjoy their free time among their friends in and about the market and tavern.

Kili was just in the middle of arguing that they could bring back some venison for food and furs for sale when heavy steps came echoing into the room.

The brother's ceased their bickering to watch as young Soren stumped through the door and then threw herself on the woven mat in the centre of the room, face down so her cousins couldn't see the ugly scowl that was firmly plastered onto her face.

"What's the matter?" Fili asked, scooting closer to the disgruntled dwarfling. Even if he tried, he wouldn't be able to supress those overpowering older brother instincts of his. "Tell us little fox."

Soren lifted her head and stared at the heir with an inscrutable expression as he called her by her Da's favourite pet name. Wordlessly she lifted on hand and held it against the side of her head, just over her temple.

"Headache?" Fili surmised and heard Kili grunt sympathetically from behind him. Both of them knew that Soren was having lessons everyday with Balin, but they also knew that their little cousin was extremely intelligent and therefore paying for it with a heavy workload. No one had ever heard her complain though; she just threw herself into her lessons with a determination that was both admirable and frightening.

"Watcha arguing about?" Soren asked after a moment. Fili looked at his brother and Kili raised his eyebrows questioningly at the hidden meaning in his brother's gaze.

"Kee and I just decided that we're going camping tonight. Somewhere nice and quiet." Fili kicked his little brother as he went to ask what on earth Fili was talking about. The eldest of the Durin youth's had been watching the dwarfling's eyes light up at the words _camping _and _nice and quiet. _It looked like they weren't the only ones in need of a break. "Would you like to come with us, cousin?"

"Da will never let me." The young lass said sorrowfully, shaking her head so that her dark hair fell into her eyes. Kili had just been about the echo the same sentiment when he caught sight of his brother's features which were set into his most stubborn expression.

"We'll see," he said instead. "Fee and I are grown now. Besides, we can be very persuasive when we want to." Kili felt slightly horrible for giving her so much hope when there really was very little hope of Thorin letting her go. But for the idolising look in her glistening eyes, he thought it was all worth it. Even if they did get chewed out by their uncle.

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"Uncle Thorin?" Fili called around the area were numerous workers were having a bite to eat. Kili nudged his side when he spotted Thorin, every bit as filthy and sweaty as the rest of the dwarves. Thorin Oakenshield stood, excused himself, and followed his nephews to where they waited beneath a broad elm tree.

"Lads?" he asked, and they couldn't help but note that he sounded both curious and anxious. Soren had done strange things to their thick-skinned, stoic uncle.

"Well, you know how you gave us two days off?" Kili said awkwardly before he mentally kicked himself. What a stupid conversation starter.

"We thought we should go camping and … well –" Fili sounded like he was trying hard to avoid saying what needed to be said, but for Kili it came out in a thick rush of verbal vomit.

"We were thinking Soren should come." He blurted out. Mentally kicking himself wasn't going to cut it this time. Perhaps smashing his face into an anvil would suffice. His uncle may not hesitate to offer a helping hand with that, especially considering the penetrating gaze that he set upon his youngest nephew. Maybe this had been a bad idea… Mahal knows, Kili just wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

"And why would you think I would allow this?" Thorin's voice was ice cold and bordering on menacing. "She's _eleven_."

"Because – because she needs a break to!" Fili cried after some uneasy clearing of his throat. He tried his best not to wither under Thorin's famous soul-eating stare that wasn't quite a glare but something infinitely more terrifying. "And, well – she's been working so hard… and when we said we were going…"

Thorin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as his nephews visibly cowered away.

He knew that Soren worked hard for her age and put herself under strain, that she was more than deserving of a break. But sending her off into the wilds with just Fili and Kili did not seem like a good idea at _all. _She was _eleven, _for the love of Mahal!

Of course then there was that part of him that didn't want to deny his daughter anything. He sighed again before stalking off towards their home with purposeful strides, his nephews trailing behind.

Thorin stopped in the entryway of their humble abode, kicking off his heavy boots as he called for Soren as he always did. Like every other day she hurtled through the house in one of her rare fits of youthful exuberance and promptly wrapped herself around his waist – only a few short months ago she had been forced to settle for clinging to his legs.

"You're back early." She stated in an almost accusing way. He rested a large hand on top of her tussled, untameable hair and hummed.

"I came to see you, little fox." He said softly in response. The young girl relinquished her hold on him and the four of them – Fili and Kili had come inside and stood awkwardly behind – moved into the kitchen with Soren shooting a glare at her cousins when she thought Thorin couldn't see. They sat at the simple wooden table in their usual places and an altogether too awkward silence ensued. Soren's gaze flitted about the table ceaselessly as she watched them.

"Fili and Kili tell me you've been working hard at you studies."

"Always, father." Thorin allowed himself a brief smile at the solemn, dutiful expression on her young face.

"I do not doubt it, little on," he saw a brief swell of pride in those silver eyes. "Your cousins also tell me that you would like to go camping with them?"

The glare returned and Fili and Kili made sure to look suitably rebuked.

"Well, would you like to?" Thorin asked her and he saw a light bloom on her face like she was suddenly channelling the sun's brightness from within.

Soren seemed to sense how close she was to what she wanted for she leapt out of her chair and scrambled into her father's lap – though she was arguably too big for such an act at this point - in the kind of childish exuberance that she usually didn't hold with. Soren clasped her father's broad, scarred hands in her own smaller ones and beseeched him with her eyes.

"Oh please Da! I want to go more than anything!" Thorin did his best to stifle his growing grin at just how excited the dwarfling was. She rarely called him 'Da' to his face nowadays, having adopted the more formal 'father.' It was good indicator of just how eager she truly was. But then her smile was carefully tucked away and she looked at him slyly with a tiny smirk tugging at her lips. "Besides, you're always saying that Fee and Kee should be more responsible. They have to be if you let _me _go with them."

This time Thorin didn't hide the smile or the try to muffle the booming laugh that accompanied it. He turned to his nephews, who seemed quite shocked to have seen such a reaction elicited from their usually sober uncle.

"She's right there lads," he says and the brother's look at each other and wonder if any of this had been a good idea at all. The expression on Thorin's face slips and he's looking at them sternly once again. "You would be totally responsible for her, and everything that happened. Do you think you could handle it? Do you think you could bear the guilt if something went wrong?"

The words were like cold shards of ice to the hearts of the young dwarrow but Fili, for one, was resolute. _He could do this. _It had just occurred to him that this could well be his opportunity to prove, once and for all, that he was capable. That he _could _be responsible and take care of others. It was a chance to prove to Thorin that he _was _worthy of being his heir.

"We would never let anything happen to her uncle; nothing."

"Besides," Kili chimed in. "We know the wilds hereabouts better than just about anyone, and we would be going far; it's just one night after all."

"And where exactly would you be going?" Thorin said, sending a calculating look at his nephews. Soren was still curled in his lap and he absently stroked a hand through her tangled mane. Kili hesitated at the question though, for they hadn't thought they would even get _this _far and consequently had no plans that were set in stone. Well, Kili didn't. There was a reason that Fili was both big brother and heir.

"Over the old footbridge across Fool's Falls." Fili told their uncle, as though they had discussed this many times and had it all mapped out and written down. The location he described was a bridge that someone had built not far from the edge of a reasonably sized waterfall. It had spectacular views. "We thought Soren might like to see the Falls; they're especially magnificent this time of year. We would camp not far from there in a copse of old pines that provide plenty of shelter. Kili and I have camped there many times."

"It sounds like a good plan," Thorin nodded, almost as though he was reluctant to admit it. Soren shot a small smile at her cousins from beneath her father's chin. "Very well, if Soren wishes to go, she may. But for Mahal's sake and mine _be careful."_

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**A/N I decided to break this in two parts. Part one consisting of Thorin being an overprotective parent who doesn't want to let their child out of the house in case something happens. :D Sorry if it doesn't seem that way; I grew up in the country so my big bro and I were kind of free to explore and be gone until it was dark, even if we weren't together. **

**I hope that you like it, I really do! And if you do, don't forget to review and all that other stuff. I would LOVE to hear from you guys, even one word is sufficient. Also still looking for some more prompts!**

**Next time be on the lookout for trouble because the young Durin's are most assuredly going to find some! Plus Thorin to the rescue! Maybe. We'll see. **

**Remember to read and review all of you lovely beautiful people! I'm still looking for prompts to! They don't necessarily have to be about Soren, she's just the axle this wheels turning on. **

**Until next time, me beauties!**


	3. Camping (With Fili and Kili!) Part Two

Familial Bonds

Camping (With Fili and Kili) Part 2

**SkyBlue: the part about Thorin's 'soul-eating' stare wasn't in the original handwritten copy. It kind of just ended up in there as I was transferring onto the computer and I looked at it and was like 'what the heck? Maybe someone will laugh.' So I'm glad it made you laugh haha. Thanks for your review; I'm glad you think my work is good.**

**celebrisilweth: Thanks for your review and yes, it most definitely is a disaster-to-be. Muhahaha!**

**Thanks also to Knowing Grace; your reviews never fail to make me smile to the point of tears. **

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To say that Soren was excited would have been a huge understatement; she whirled around the house with more exuberance than Thorin had ever seen his daughter display – well, aside from that one time he had fallen down the stairs in the midst of a tickle fight, but that's a story for another time.

It took Soren less than ten minutes to prepare for the day and a half trip and when Thorin checked her bag to ensure she had all of the necessities he was surprised to find that he couldn't have packed it better – well, he could have done it _neater _and more _orderly _but then again he wasn't an overly excited eleven year old girl.

Needless to say she was prepared far before her cousins and bounced impatiently on the balls of her feet as they gathered weapons, food, clothes, tinderboxes, blankets a hatchet and all of the other things that one needs when going on an admittedly short camping trip.

Thorin stood in the middle of it all, watching his wards charge about the house preparing themselves. He couldn't deny that Fili and Kili certainly seemed to know what they were doing and were surprisingly organised. Although they snuck out on impromptu hunting trips often enough that they probably had prepared packs stashed beneath their beds.

So Thorin Oakenshield sat back in his favourite armchair in the living room and watched the three terrors race about in the hall and the rest of the house, a funny feeling curling in the bottom of his stomach.

When he realised that the feeling was actually emptiness, a sense of loss, he took it out and examined it more closely. For he wasn't truly losing anything… was he? He pondered on it for a long moment before it gradually made sense.

Soren was growing up. It couldn't be denied and it couldn't be avoided. Though mostly it happened so gradually that he didn't really notice, the physical side of the growing was evident for all to see. Soren was taller than Kili had been at her age, probably taller than Thorin had been, though there were none around to remember such a time clearly – for which he was privately grateful. But she wasn't the lanky type of tall that Kili still possessed, she was built sturdier like Fili. Like a warrior.

Thorin sighed and closed his eyes. He had no idea what to do with Soren as she got older. Who was she to be? She was a princess to be sure, but every dwarf had to learn a craft, even one such as needlepoint for a dwarrowdam.

_His _father had forced him to learn the way of the smith 'the truest of all dwarven crafts' but it had not been what he had wanted to do. He had wanted to apprentice to a jeweller; his finer fingers and sharp eyes had made him well suited to the skill. But fathers were fathers and Thorin had not contested the point. Looking back on it he was glad of the decision. How in Durin's name would he have supported his family and his people working as a jeweller who had no fine gems to work with?

Soren had not yet shown an aptitude for a craft. Most dwarrow had by her age. Balin oft said that she had a fine mind that would serve her well in any field, from politics to engineering and battle strategies. Her patience in that area was a result of a sturdy temperament. In contrast her patience was negligible at best whenever Dis attempted to school her in any one of the 'feminine' arts from aforementioned needlepoint to spinning and cooking. Thorin had a sneaking suspicion that the dwarfling didn't like to participate in anything that had been declared a 'female' activity.

Camping … was something she evidently enjoyed, though she had only been a handful of times before and those were all accompanied by Thorin and Dwalin. He wondered what the matrons of their society would say if they knew that their princess was more excited to disappear into the wilderness and sleep on the ground than to learn how to be a 'proper' lady.

But beside from the sense of emptiness and loss was an undeniable feeling of anxiety and dread. Part of him couldn't actually believe that he was allowing her to venture out into the wilds with naught but her cousins for guidance and protection. There were so many dangers out there that even they, with all their training and skill, had no idea how to face.

Sighing he called Soren over to him and she trotted up, curiosity shining in her strange, pale eyes. He knelt before her and her brow gradually furrowed in confusion. Her eyes widened as he pulled something long and slender from beneath the folds of his coat. Thorin pressed the wrapped parcel into her hands and Soren gazed up at him for a moment before gingerly unwrapping the oiled skin that protected it from outside elements.

"It been within our family for a long time, passed on to the heir of each generation." He said as he watched her hand fold over the hilt and draw the dark blade from its emblazoned sheath. It was easily as long as her forearm and Thorin had carefully dulled the edges of it as his daughter and nephews prepared for the trip. The tip was still razor sharp, just in case.

"But isn't it Fili's then?" Soren asked, looking towards her Da with eyes that were filled with unidentifiable emotion. It's a big deal when a young dwarrow receives their first blade.

"He gave it back when you were born." Thorin said shortly recalling the broad smile on the thirty-seven year olds face as he handed back the blade, gazing tenderly at the gurgling babe. The blade was one of the few relics still possessed by their people from the fall of Erebor and aside from Deathless it was one of the only weapons.

"Da –" Soren began, though she wasn't wholly sure of what to say. But she didn't have to say anything for Thorin swept up his daughter in a tight huge and buried his face in her thick waves of hair.

"Be safe, little fox." He murmured before drawing back. She looked at him for a long moment, solemnity written into her features, and then she smirked and darted forward to peck him on the cheek in a way that she never had before.

"Everything will be well, Da."

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Soren stood at the edge of the wooden bridge and shouted with exhilaration. The spray from the waterfall kissed her face and her hair was lank and damp. Fili and Kili laughed at her from the other side of the bridge where they were staying considerably drier.

"They call it Fool's Falls because more than one man has leapt into the water after gold!" Kili shouted at her, struggling to be heard over the roaring of the water. He then gestured over the edge and Soren stood on tiptoe to see over the railing. What she saw made her gasp in shock, but then her brow furrowed in confusion.

Glints of gold shone through the rushing water frequently but they seemed to be … moving?

"Fish!" Fili yelled with a smirk. "They were actually jumping in after fish!"

"Of course then the fools were washed over the waterfall and never seen a again." Kili told her as they stepped of the far end of the bridge.

"That's terrible!" Soren cried. "Didn't anyone go looking for them?"

"Oh aye, but there are many fast-flowing streams and small rivers that branch of the main one, so it's pretty much impossible to work out where they went," Kili grinned, though Fili was glaring exasperatedly at his brother since he knew exactly what he was getting at. Kili just couldn't resist sometimes… "By the time anyone did stumble over them they were dead; drowned or eaten by wolves. Sometimes both!"

"Kili!"Soren shouted, wishing she had something to throw at her dark-haired cousin.

"Why don't you do something useful for once in your life , brother, and find us something to eat for dinner." Fili said. Kili – mature dwarf that he is – stuck his tongue out and huffed at his brother before grinning again at Soren and striding off into the forest with his bow in hand.

"Ignore him," Fili told her as they watched him leave. "Come, our camp's just up here."

'The camp' was a thick copse of old pines that grew together tightly with a small clearing in the centre. In the centre of the clearing there was a rocky outcrop perhaps twice the height of Fili and it provided plenty of shelter and space beneath it.

Soren set to rolling out bedrolls and unpacking a few bits and pieces from the packs as Fili gathered sticks and kindling for a fire. The pine branches and needles emitted an aromatic scent as they caught alight, but little smoke. By the time Kili returned with two rabbits they were watching a pot of water boil.

"Exciting," Kili commented dryly as he put down the rabbits and effectively annihilated the companionable silence that had been present before he showed up again. He took out his knife and pulled the rabbits closer to him.

"Not here, Kili." Fili told him sternly. "We don't need to attract every wolf into the middle of our campsite."

Kili shrugged nonchalantly and stood with his rabbits slung over his shoulder. "I'll be near the river."

"I'll come to!" Soren said with a smile. "I can help you clean them."

"Since when do you know how to gut rabbits?" Fili asked incredulously. Soren just sniffed at him.

"Since Aunty Dis began forcing me to do _something _in the kitchen."

The brother's laughed, knowing just how spectacular Soren's cooking skills were.

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The river was loud, almost like a constant pounding on the ears. It was even worse now that they were at the bottom of the falls. The rabbits had been skilfully skinned, gutted and threaded onto a green stick that was perfect for a spit.

Soren crouched at the water's edge and cleaned her hands in the turbulent waters, watching in a kind of morbid awe as the rivulets of crimson blood trickled off her hands and diluted until the water was crystal clear again.

The dwarfling felt rather than heard Kili crouch down beside her as he washed his hands also. It was impossible to hear anything over the thunderous falls. Soren handed him back the small knife that he had lent her, now perfectly clean once again, and turned to shout something at him but something moved out of the corner of her eye.

Growing up in a household full of warriors – as well as mischievous trickster cousins- had given Soren a gift of speed and reaction time. She spun and half raised her hand, the club catching her half way across her neck and shoulders. The blow stunned her and she fell back, tripping over the large flat river stones and toppling into the water.

Soren heard Kili shout over the water filling her ears as well as the unmistakeable ring of iron against iron. The she was under water and her body's responses suddenly came back to her. She clawed against the water as she had been taught but there was no way to know which was up and which way was down.

The water was too strong, too fast and she could do nothing to prevent her head smashing against the rock that she didn't even see.

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Dis was enjoying her afternoon free of exuberant young ruffians and their boisterousness. She was taking the opportunity to sit down and read a good book in the living room. Across from her Thorin was sitting with hooded eyes as puffed on his pipe. Dis wondered if he was thinking about Soren and the boys, but knowing her brother his mind could be on any number of things concerning him at that moment.

But then the door slammed open, too hard and too fast. Dis leapt out of her chair as though burned, the book held as an impromptu weapon. Thorin had reacted faster, and now stood wielding one of the pokers from the fire. When she realised that it was her son's that came stumbling through the door, Kili leaning altogether too heavily on his big brother, the book slipped from Dis' numb fingers.

"Boys?" she whispered before she darted forward and pulled Kili off his brother and into a nearby chair. The archer was dazed, a heavy wound on his head that bled heartily as all head wounds will do. Again, Thorin's was working fast, and his mind was already two steps ahead of hers.

"Where's Soren!?" he demanded an Fili looked at him with a haunted expression and it took him a good while to answer as though he couldn't quite process the words. Dis looked up, terrified. She only just noticed that the youngest Durin wasn't with her cousins.

"Gone," was Fili's response and he sounded so hollow, so _empty _while he said it that Dis' heart dropped like a stone. "Orcs came. Kee and Soren … they were by the river."

"They knocked her over the head and she fell in the water," Kili's voice was so rough and hoarse that it was almost impossible to tell what he was saying. Dis gingerly pressed a wad of cloth from her skirt to the wound on his forehead. "I tried to get her but the water was too strong, too fast."

Thorin closed his eyes and his whole world seemed to come apart at the seams.

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**A/N I know, I know, I said ONE more chapter, but who can resist a cliffhanger this good? Not me obviously. I'm a sucker for cliffhangers. They're my favourite part of writing a story hehe. **

**Which just means you're going to have to beg and scream and stamp your feet to get me to upload the resolution anytime soon, but that's mainly because I'll get in trouble if I spend much more time sitting in front of my computer. Also, I have school tomorrow. Apparently I'm obligated to show up. XD**

**Thank you to everyone who favourite, followed and reviewed.**


	4. Camping (With Fili and Kili!) Part Three

Familial Bonds

Camping (With Fili and Kili) Part 3

**Thanks celebrisilweth and Knowing Grace for your support! **

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Soren blinked groggily as she gradually came to. At first she panicked slightly because she couldn't open her eyes properly, couldn't see. Everything was blurry. But then she realised that they were heavy droplets of water clinging to her lashes and the lids of her eyes. The dwarfling reached up stiffly, her body almost refusing to go through the motions, and roughly brushed the water away with the damp heel of her palm.

Then Soren gradually sat up, trying to ignore the way her head spun and the world tilted crazily around her. The trees seemed to be dancing. Her head ached something fierce and felt like a split melon.

"Fee?" she called softly over a swollen tongue. "Kee?"

Frowning when there was no response Soren gingerly sat back on her haunches and stare around at the forbidding forest that loomed over her. She glanced back at the fast flowing stream and shivered, both from cold and fear.

The rocks underneath her were hard and slippery, and her clothes were wet, clinging to her thin frame. Soren contemplated calling out for her cousins again, but the memory of an orc's snarling face loomed in her mind. She knew she couldn't stay by the water; if anyone or _anything _was looking for her, it would scout along the banks, presuming her to be dead or otherwise incapacitated. Easy pickings.

She shuddered at the very thought and resolved herself to slowly make it to her feet. Soren rocked onto her knees first and then thrust one leg out in front. She breathed heavily for a good long moment, panting as sweat rolled off her brow. She knew she _had _to get up, even though her body wanted to do nothing more than sink back down and bask in its misery.

So then she stood, albeit jerkily, and rested for another moment with her hands on her knees until the world stopped whizzing about her head so quickly. But then it passed and she could see and think clearly again, though the pounding in her skull hadn't abated one bit. Then she glanced around and attempted to formulate some plan of some kind. Preferably before she got sick from the cold and damp and died. Or before the orcs traipsed down river and killed her. Or before some wolves hunted her down and ate her… Okay, bad thoughts, not helping.

The stream had obviously joined to the main river at some point, so it made sense that she should follow it against the current until she knew where she was. The bad part about that plan was that the orcs were upriver too. But then, so were Fili and Kili, last she had seen.

Soren glanced at the sky and attempted to form a rough estimate of the time. She thought it to be about late afternoon given the splashes of crimson and orange that was liberally spread across the sky. She tried to remember what she had heard old Oin say that one time… _a red sunset – blood has been spilled this day. _

The dwarfling shuddered again, and hoped that the blood didn't belong to Fili or Kili. She'd much prefer their blood stay on the inside; where it belonged.

But Soren wasn't too young or too incompetent to know what night time meant. It meant cold, and given that she was soaking wet, that wasn't a comforting thought. Already she could feel a chill in the breeze that swelled about her and it was enough to make her shiver with every second breath. Nights in the mountain were especially cold, and she would have to find some way to stay warm.

Soren was suddenly grateful that Balin had taught her map-reading skills on maps of the locality about their home. The waterfall had been East from their home and if she remembered correctly the main river continued to run almost directly due east. That meant she just had to find the main river, align herself with it, and keep heading due west.

So that was what she did. Stiffly, she walked purposefully a little distance away from the stream, walking against the current. It took quite some time, but then she was back at the main river which, thankfully, was running straight as an arrow west to east. She followed it for another hour or so but by then the light was certainly failing and she was still cold and wet.

There was another long indecisive moment for decision-making. Soren could either stay on the riverbank and hope a search party –and not orcs- came past in the middle of the night, or she could retreat into the woods in search of shelter for it was autumn and the chance of heavy rain and cold winds was high, and either could come unexpectedly. In the end though she was forced to conclude that the forest was a more intelligent plan, but issue of being passed by a search party in the middle of the night was high.

The plan she settled on was so brilliant it almost made her smile, despite the pain, cold and concern she was plagued with; she would make a sign, one not easily missed but not legible to orc-kind.

Soren took out her dagger and scrapped away the rough bark of a tree that could be seen from either side of the river revealing amber coloured skin beneath. Then she set to with the keen tip of the blade, carving in the dwarvish runes. It was hard work and the light was disappearing behind the mountains so she kept it brief. _South, night, S. _she was tempted to add a small 'help' underneath but her pride wouldn't allow it.

Then she took the bright blue – now saturated – scarf from about her neck and tied it in a way that clearly showed the direction she took, but only to those who knew how to interpret it, like dwarves, say. Kili had taught it to her when she had asked why he always carried a bright blue kerchief about his neck. Kili… Soren allowed herself a moment to briefly chew on her lip and let concern for her cousin flood her. Kili had been right beside her when the orcs attacked and there was every chance that they caught him by surprise. Fili had been alone…

"Please be okay," She whispered to the quiet woods.

Soren shook her head fiercely and strode off in her chosen direction, banishing such thoughts and allowing only her own situation to concern her. It took a good while to come across a place that offered both shelter and a bolt-hole so she could leave quickly if necessary. It was a dry, loamy space beneath a tree that had fallen at one point before miraculously continuing to grow. The space underneath it was dry and fairly open but looked undisturbed for quite some time.

The only problem now was how to get warm…

Soren's thoughts strayed back a few years when Fili and Kili had been trapped out hunting in an unexpected snowstorm. Dis had been out of her mind with worry but the next day they had traipsed back into the house laughing and covered in pine needles and soft bark. They had been pulling the stuff out of obscure places for a week. Turns out they had made an impromptu shelter that had both sheltered them from the snow and kept some of the cold out. Soren didn't know the details but she knew what materials she needed and that she need to make a shelter she could clamber inside of, preferably a small one.

So she ventured outside again, shivering terribly and gathered together short, sturdy sticks that she jammed between the floor, ceiling and walls of the little cave in an effort to make a supporting dome _thing. _Then she heaped pine needles, long thick layers of bark, wood and leaves against it to form a little hut with a tiny opening. The floor was cold though, so she dragged in some more stuff to sleep on top of, guided only by the light of the moon.

Though she was loath to, Soren knew she had to ditch the wet clothes, so she layed them out and hung what she could off the roots that permeated the ceiling of her little cave. Then she crawled into her shelter in naught but her skin and heaped more pine needles and leaves over her body. Then she shuddered and lay still once more, determined to sleep and live through the night.

~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~

Thorin couldn't believe the way life just seemed to continue for other people as he strode through the middle of the town, a large group of eager and anxious dwarves on his heels. Didn't these people realise that the world was ending? That something so cataclysmic had occurred that the reverberations of it would echo across all of time and space? There was no way people should seem so calm, peaceful and _normal. _For sure as anything the world would end if Soren wasn't around to enjoy it.

They made good time to Fool's Falls, Fili anxiously treading at the head of the group with Thorin and Dwalin. He looked as though he was about to break into a run at any second, go pelting off in search of his dearest cousin – well, his _only_ cousin, but that's beside the point. But then they were at the Falls and cautiously threading their way through the trees, on the lookout for any indicator that orcs were in the area.

They weren't, but it wasn't hard for the trackers amongst them to pick up the trail of the orcs moving downriver, spread out as though they were searching for something. A part of Thorin's heart shrivelled a little at the thought of what it is they may all find, but he resolutely forced the thought from his mind. That was not the time or place, and knowing Soren she would be perfectly fine; she was resourceful and intelligent, more so than her age led anyone to believe.

The dwarves, all of them battle-ready and eager for orc blood – though every bit as eager to see their prince's only child returned for dwarrow children are precious beyond all measure – so they headed downriver, following the current and, as fate would have it, the orcs.

Eventually the tracks became garbled and a couple of trackers ran further downriver whilst the others scouted the land around them. They came back, saying they had found the trail again, but that it was becoming too dark to follow them any further since the tracks actually led away from the river. Thorin couldn't hold back his snarl of rage and frustration as he received the report, but he reluctantly told the group to settle down for the night. Thorin himself took the watch –since sleep wasn't even a fantasy at that point – and sat diligently with both Fili and Dwalin by his side as the moon gradually wondered overhead.

"Hold on, Little Fox." He said to the world around him, imagining he could see her smirking at him as he gazed at the pale silver disc overhead, the same colour as her eyes. Then he imagined that it was Saram's eye glaring down at him accusingly.

~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~

The day broke sunny and bright – too bright for the tragedy that had brought Thorin to his knees only the day before. He had his companions on their feet before the sun had fully crept over the horizon. Then Thorin had a heavy decision to make, and he had spent the entirety of the night before mulling it over.

"How many orcs do you think?" he asked one of the trackers. The dwarf cast another long look at the marks in the ground before replying.

"Thirteen." Thorin turned to Dwalin with a resigned look in his eye.

"Take three-quarters out group and follow the _rakh__âs__." _he spat before turning to Fili and Gloin, Oin and Gloin's young son, Gimli. "We'll keep going down river."

The four of them nodded grimly and followed him without hesitation. Gimli too young to even be out there at all, but Thorin had seen his skill with an axe and knew he was a courageous lad. Even then, he still wanted to keep his eye on him.

About half an hour later of strict force-march Fili gave a sudden, heart-wrenching cry before breaking into a sprint. By the time the other's caught up to him he was smiling almost giddily with relief, a lone tear dancing on his cheek.

"She's alive!" he cried out, as though he had tried ever so hard to believe it and yet just couldn't manage until that moment.

Thorin looked at the scraped tree bark and carved runes with a grim smile, though his heart was still low in his gut.

_South, night, S _were the runes inscribed. He knew what they meant. She had gone directly south from her position to find a place to stay for the night. Thorin looked at the sky and carefully analysed the weak light that still barely filtered into the mountains. Perhaps she hadn't woken yet and was still making her way toward the river. He knew that she would have carved through the runes if she had returned to the river, or she would at least have removed her scarf.

Thorin took up said scarf in his hands, noting how damp and cold it was. It was almost painful to touch. But he held it to his nose anyway and inhaled, wondering if there was any scent of her left on it, or if the water had washed her particular fragrance from the fabric.

But no, it was still there. Faintly he smelled lavender and sandalwood and he reverently tucked the scarf into his belt.

"We're wasting time here," he said stiffly, moving in the direction they had been directed. None of the others thought to correct him on the fact that it had been Thorin wasting time and not them; that they had just been waiting for the prince. But then, none of them really fancied getting their head lopped off either.

They were only a score of paces into the forest when an orc hunting horn sounded, its cry long, drawn out and menacing.

Against his will Thorin froze in place and only a single sound passed his lips before he was running like a mad man.

"Soren…"

~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~

The orcs head turned towards her and it grinned menacingly, razor-sharp pointed teeth bared for all to see, primed for the ripping and mauling of tender young dwarf flesh. Its companion raised a horn to its mouth and blew long and loud, signalling the hunt. Soren wondered if that was the beckoning call of death. All time seemed to slow and the world seemed to darken and chill.

They had been waiting for her.

They had been waiting all along for her to poke her head out of her little cave, so grateful that she was still alive that she hadn't seen them until one of them had laughed. There were three standing, waiting for her and all wore the same malicious grins – if they could be called that. Soren had no doubt that the horn was to signify the beginning of the hunt, to alert more orcs to the sport.

No, it wasn't enough that they kill her, they had to make a game out of it too.

_I'm never going to play tag again, _Soren thought as she sprinted through the trees, their cruel branches lashing at her. For the first time in her life she was glad that she was tall and thin for her age and race. It meant she was a fast runner and that the orcs weren't catching up _too _fast.

Her breath was coming in ragged drags and gasps when a steep, rocky incline loomed out of nowhere. She threw herself up it, heedless of the sharp pieces of shale that sliced her hands and slipped out from under her feet. She clambered up on all fours, finding it nearly impossible to get a grip on the shifting slope.

Soren glanced back only for the briefest of moments and would have fainted right away if she had not been made of sterner stuff. About a score of orcs clustered below and two were quickly pursuing her up the incline, moving faster than she could with their long, spindly, muscular arms and legs. Then she concentrated on climbing, higher, faster.

But her attention was drawn again when she saw her father burst out of the tree line like an maddened, rampaging bear, shouting a war cry that could curdle even orc-blood. Soren's mouth dropped open slightly as he swung his sword in such an almighty arc that it caught an orc in the cut and swept it clean of its feet before the separated body parts tumbled into the shrubbery. His next blow sliced an orc clean in half from shoulder to hip. Then Fili was there too, whirling like a gold and steel tornado with his twin blades. Other dwarves charged in from either end of the clearing and the orcs were caught between…

A scabbed, slimy hand ensnared her boot and dragged her down towards it. Soren let loose a shriek of terror as she dug her hands in to try and stop the sliding. The hand released and she squirmed to get away but then it grabbed onto her belt instead. Sheer terror and an ancestry of proud warrior dwarves pulsed through the dwarfling and she grabbed for the long dagger her father had bequeathed to her.

She rolled and whipped her arm out, sending the dark blade slashing clear across the orcs face. It screeched and reeled backwards before it fell, hands grasping at empty air. Its body sprawled at awkward angles at the base of the incline numerous feet below.

"Soren!" she heard her father bellow, but her gaze was transfixed on the other orc just below her and ascending rapidly. She glanced quickly to the top of the incline but it was clear she would never make it. Soren shifted the weight of the blade in her hand and turned so that her back faced the rocks. She took a deep, steadying breath before she moved.

Using quick, high steps Soren ran down the slope and when she was close enough she dived at the orc which had no place to go in so short a time. It jerked backwards, avoiding the keen point that was angled at its eye and merely got a chest full of dwarven steel instead. It fell backwards like a broken doll and tumbled all the way to the bottom, Soren not far behind it.

Soren had learnt to fall a long time ago. It was inevitable for such an adventurous child. So she tucked her chin into her chest, released the dagger – still buried in the orc – and wrapped her hands protectively over her head. By the time she reached the bottom her body ached, stung and felt like it was liable to kind of just fall apart.

But then her Da's arms were around her and she allowed herself her first sniffle since the nightmare had begun.

"Don't you _ever _do that again," He growled quietly in her ear, though she knew it was his response to being frightened out of his mind. Soren felt herself being lifted bodily off the ground and wrapped her arms and legs around Thorin's broad form and hung on like a limpet. She buried her head in the crook of his neck and felt his hair tickle her skin like a protective, ebony curtain.

Soren heard the tramp of heavy boots and managed to restrain herself from shivering.

"Looks like your 'Little Fox' has learned to bite, Thorin," Dwalin's comforting voice rumbled, accompanied by a few loud guffaws from about them. There was a thud of a boot hitting flesh and Soren pocked her head out to see one of the dwarves she didn't recognise pulling her knife from the orc corpse after having given it a solid kick.

"More a wolf than a fox, I think," Said the dwarf with a broad, crooked grin that showed dimples. His floppy hat wobbled as he cleaned the blade gingerly before returning in to her with a wink.

"Time to go home, I think," Fili grinned at her as he approached, reaching out a handle to ruffle his little cousin's leaf strewn hair in the way he knew she hated and loved at the same time. "No major injuries anywhere, well, aside from Dwalin getting half his ear bitten off… but everyone else is fine."

"How's Kee?" Soren asked softly as she snuck a glance at Dwalin, who was indeed holding a crimson, wadded cloth to one of his ears. He caught her glance and winked at her to indicate that he was just fine for which she was relieved.

"He's fine too," Fili said with a soft smile. "He took a knock to the head but he's like you; a head like a granite boulder."

"A head like a Durin," Thorin told them, gingerly running a thumb over a cut on Soren's cheek. It must've stung considerably, but she didn't wince or even look at him.

"Must mean your adopted Fee!" Soren chirped in that cheeky, off-hand way she possessed. Thorin felt himself chuckle and Dwalin's bellowing laughter was accompanied by Bofur's and Gimli's sniggering as Fili flushed before poking his tongue out in a decidedly un-prince like way.

~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~

**A/N That's all folks! For this rather long 'two' part piece anyway. I was sorely tempted to cut this chapter in half **_**again **_**but I thought that would have just been mean. **

**So, I hope you liked it, and if you did be sure to follow this story because there's plenty more to come! On that note, I am eternally looking for prompts for this little collection. They can be anything; humorous, tragedy, a random event you'd like to see occur. It doesn't necessarily have to feature Soren per se, she's kind of just my addition to the Durin family. **

**Thank you ever so much for reading and all that stuff because you are all seriously wonderful, wonderful people!**

**Please review! Seriously, it makes me day like nothing else in the world! I would love to know what you think! Constructive criticism is certainly more than welcome! (Well, so long as it's 'constructive' and not someone being a total nob!) **

**If you missed it before, Soren originates from my one-shot 'Everything isn't Everything' which is apparently highly emotional, so go read it if you're wondering where the hell Thorin got a daughter from. (Well, not like **_**where **_**but, ya know…) **


	5. Moment's You'd Rather Forget - Humour

Familial Bonds

Moments You'd Rather Forget

**This prompt was provided by the ever wonderful Knowing Grace who is seriously a legend and is pretty much trying their hardest to inflate my ego to the point where I drift out of the stratosphere. I hope I do you proud with the awkwardness you wanted to induce haha.**

**I'm not going to introduce this prompt; I believe it becomes pretty clear early on. XD **

**~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~**

Thorin was glad that Dis had finally kicked him and Soren out of her home. It meant the two of them had more space, more time together and no more frustrating nephews underfoot – as much as he loved his heirs _of course. _

The prince of Durin's folk had just laid breakfast out on the table and sat down with a steaming mug of tea when a wailing cry echoed down the hall.

"Daaaaaaaaaa!"

Thorin leapt to his feet in an instant and ran towards Soren's room. Something was definitely wrong; the young lass never cried out and she never called him 'Da' anymore.

"What's wrong!?" He cried as he stopped outside the door. He went to turn the handle but there was weight against the door. "Soren!?"

"Da, I think I'm dying!" She cried and he was thunderstruck to hear the tears in her voice. It sounded as though she was sitting behind the door though and he needed her to move.

"Dying!?" He yelped in response. "Soren open the door!"

"No!" she howled, aghast.

"Then _tell me _what's wrong!" He pushed against the door again but his daughter must have leant against it harder to keep him out.

"B-blood!" she said with a half-choked sob.

"Blood?" he repeatedly dumbly. "Where?"

There was a pregnant pause.

"D-down… down _there…" _Soren said uncomfortably. Outside the door Thorin Oakenshield froze like grass in the winter frost. "I-in, in my … uh – my nickers…"

Thorin thought he was going to faint right away. He leaned his head against the cool wood of the door before her words struck him truly and he leapt back, bashing his head against the wall behind.

"Er… uh, just stay where you are, okay?"

"Da?" the words were soft and confused. "Where are _you _going?"

"Ju-just put pressure on it!" He called before he smacked himself in the forehead. _Put pressure on it? _Really?

"But where are you going!?" Soren cried from behind the door. "Don't leave me here bleeding!"

"I've got to get your aunt! I'll be _right _back!"

_Well, preferably I'll be back in a few hours when everything's sorted and Dis' fixed her up again_.

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**A/N I know it's short, but I hope I made you smile at the very least! Please review if you did. Prompts still accepted. **


	6. Hunger - Family

EquusGold 27/08/14

**Hunger**

**A/N Okay, after some serious mathematics I have deduced that Soren was born in 2896, Thorin was 150 at the time, Fili was 37 and Kili is 32. Soren is 7 at the time of this story. **

**Also, in my head cannon dwarves physically age at the same rate as humans, but mentally they're a little slower. (Not development-wise, mostly emotionally.) Hope that makes sense and hope you enjoy! Don't forget to leave a review!**

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Soren stared down at the bland, watered-down stew that was placed before her and resisted the urge to cringe. Her father entered the kitchen a moment later, closely tailed by her cousins. Fili and Kili sat opposite her while Dis and Thorin sat at the far ends of the table. All three of the males eyed the less than satisfactory meal with the same looks of disgust and resignation that Soren was feeling. Dis eyed them al with a stern maternal air, as though challenging the members of her little family to say something.

But none of them did; they never did.

Soren was the first one to pick up her spoon and begin half-heartedly poking around in her stew. There were a couple of lumps of carrot and potato floating about in there and the young dwarfling quickly captured them and slowly chewed the washed-out vegetables. Hungry as she was, Soren couldn't bring herself to throw down the hot stew as her cousins were doing.

She had been hungry for long enough to know that this bland, tasteless, watery slop would do little to nothing to satiate the gnawing in her belly. Yet she didn't pine for something better; for a hearty meal and a full stomach. Soren couldn't recall a time when she'd had either of those things. So she found she couldn't long for that which she'd never had.

She wondered if she would grow up like Kili; to skinny for a dwarf, too frail and too weak to start training and working with the rest of the youths. Kili had been forced to wait another five years before he could properly begin training with the others. That was why he had learned to use the bow. Soren had heard aunty Dis and her Da talking in hushed tones about how it was because he'd never had enough good food as a child. Because when Dis' husband had died it had become increasingly impossible to afford to feed two growing lads.

Indeed that was the exact same fear that the dwarf-child's father was experiencing at the other end of the table. For months he had toyed with the idea of sending her away, most likely to the Iron Hills. Dain would care for her, keep her well fed, clothed, give her the learning she deserved. Dain had adored the dark-haired, pale-eyed girl from the moment he first saw her as a newborn bairn, and again as hard-faced three year old. Yes, Dain would take care of her. He would raise Soren as his own.

But it was selfishness and pride that was forcing Thorin to keep his little fox under his wing. His pride would not allow him to beg for Dain Ironfoot's help, to admit the he, who-would-be-king, could not even care for his own family, could not support his only child.

It was selfishness also, that he could not deny. Soren looked so much like her mother, like Saram, that sometimes it hurt to look at her. But it was a good kind of pain, the kind of pain that came with memory, the memory that someone loved him more than all the gems and riches of the earth. Yes, a good kind of pain indeed. It was for that reason that he wanted to be strong enough to support his stubborn, solemn daughter. Thorin wanted to honour the memory of his wife and see his – their – child grow into a fine young woman with her silver-grey eyes that rivalled the moon in their brilliance.

Thorin knew that he should do the right thing by her, but his love for Soren was too strong and the memory of Saram still too raw. He looked at his daughter then, resolutely fishing about in her stew – if it could honestly be called that – with a heavy, thoughtful expression on her fair face. As though sensing his eyes upon her she looked up and steadily held her father's gaze, a small smile creeping across her features. He knew that the smile was supposed to be nothing but reassuring, but it worked regardless.

Then her intelligent, all-knowing eyes drifted from his and slipped over the other members of their family, taking in all of the negative expressions portrayed on those familiar faces. A cheeky smirk that bespoke of trouble tugged at the corner of her lips.

"I think your cooking needs some work, Aunty Dis," she dared to say quietly in that all-too-innocent way that children have. Her eyes flicked over the faces about the small table once again even as she ducked a swing of the ladle. Dis' expression was torn between exasperation, outrage and amusement. Fili and Kili were stifling their laughs rather unsuccessfully and her Da's face was twitched, altogether too expressionless to be real.

No, Soren did not care that she was always hungry. She was surrounded by the people she loved most in the world, that she was loved by, and that was enough for her.

~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~

**A/N Please excuse any mistakes :D **

**You have guest – **_**Aranel Mereneth **_**to blame for this as they wanted a sequel to my one-shot ****Everything isn't Everything ****which is probably a good thing to read in conjunction with this. It's not very long, so please check it out.**

**Reviews are golden, or mithril, whichever works :D **

**I was wondering if anyone had any prompts for this so I might keep going pleeeeease! Even just one word is enough. **


	7. Tell Me About Mama - Hurt Comfort

Familial Bonds

Tell Me About Mama

_**A very young Soren asks about her mother.**_

**Prompt provided by BlueSky, so thank you very much. **

~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~

In the deep throes of the night Thorin became aware of a presence in his room. He woke, though just barely, and his eyes crept open to try and adjust to the absolute darkness that consumed the room. The figure was standing in the door, clad all in white. Her pale skin made her look like a ghost from one of those mannish tales.

Realising there to be no threat, Thorin closed his eyes and allowed his breath to exhale in an enormous sigh. He pulled the rugs up tighter beneath his chin.

"Da…" the feminine voice called to him with all the eeriness of a spectre. Noiselessly the figure passed over the floor boards until it reached and touched his cheek softly.

The icy fingertips caused a jolt to go through him and Thorin's eyes flicked open once again to stare the figure full in the face before allowing them to slide closed again.

Keeping his sighs and grumbles to himself he lifted his arm, and the rugs with it, grimacing as the cold night air whistled in and stabbed at his exposed skin and he shivered. The small figure clambered into the space and huddled close to his chest, the icy touch of fingers and feet making him wince internally.

Thorin drew the covers back down and ensconced them both back under the warm weights. Unruly black curls tickled him. Keeping his eyes closed he pressed a kiss into the hair at the same time breathing in the earthen scents.

"Nightmare?" he surmised quietly. Soren shivered in response and that was all the answer he needed.

"Tell me about it," he said after a few moments. The dwarfling didn't answer for a long while; perhaps she hadn't understood him as his voice was still heavy and hoarse from sleep. Soren shivered under the rugs again and curled herself up into a tighter ball against Thorin's chest.

"Tell me about Mama," she said abruptly.

"What?" Thorin was shaken awake by the words. A tingle ran down his spine. In his mind he was wondering _why now? _

"I miss my Mama," Soren sniffed and tucked her chin against her chest. "Alfi says all dwarfs have a Mama. But I don't."

"Soren…"

"Where's my Mama, Da?" Soren's voice trembled on the very edge of tears and she rubbed her face with a balled fist. Thorin too very suddenly felt like setting free a few troublesome tears of his own, but resisted against the fire that burned in his eyes. What Soren said next though nearly him had crying in frustration. "Did Mama not love me?"

Soren sounded so afraid… so uncertain. He wondered how long these thoughts had been eating away at the raven-haired child.

"No, no Soren! You're mother loved you so very much! More than anything in the world!" and that was true, Thorin thought, trying to force down the swell of bitterness in his throat. Saram had loved her child more than life itself.

"Then why'd she go?" The child wailed softly, her hands balling into the blankets.

"Your mother loved you so much that she gave her life to protect you, Little Fox. If she hadn't I wouldn't have ever met you, dear one. I would have been here all alone,"

"But because Mama left, you weren't alone?" Soren sniffed out a reply.

"Yes, dear one. Now I have you," he gently ran his fingers through the knots and snarls that seemed to permanently occupy the girl's hair. "Your mother was very brave and selfless."

Soren mouthed the word 'selfless' to herself for a moment before recognition dawned. "Like a warrior?"

Thorin chuckled in spite of himself, though the sound was strained. "Aye, lass, like a great warrior from the old stories."

"Tell me about her?" the dwarfling asked desperately.

"What do you wish to know, Little Fox?"

"Was she purdy, Da?" the innocent question brought a smile to his lips.

"Aye, she was. Your mother was the most beautiful dwarrowdam… though one day, you'll be all the more radiant…"

~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~

**Author's Note: Truly, I am growing to love this little dwarfling! I hope you will leave a review and tell me what you think! **

**I actually did some research on what people tell their children about a parent who died pre-birth. Unfortunately I found nothing on mother's who passed, but the general gist of it was that you should tell them the truth and let them ask all the questions they need to, so I went with that since I can't imagine Thorin telling a half truth about something like that anyway.**

**If you haven't read my independent one-shot EVERYTHING ISN'T EVERYTHING then you should probably check it out for a little more background info. However the vague idea is that Soren's birth was horrible and neither she nor her mother (Saram) would have survived if Saram didn't let them cut the babe from her. **

**Please review! I don't care if you're reading this **_**ages **_**after I've posted it, I still want to know what you think!**

**Loving you always,**

**EquusGold**


	8. Cooking Class - Humour

Familial Bonds

Cooking Class

**The prompt for this one once again came from Knowing Grace who wanted mishaps in the kitchen.**

**~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~**

When Dís had set out that morning with strict instructions for Thorin to have something edible ready by dinner time he had looked helplessly at his daughter who somehow – miraculously – had managed to restrain herself from making some smart-alec comment about his rather blatant lack of cooking skills.

"Can you cook?" he asked rather despondently to the child who shook her head with a smirk on her lips.

"Nope," she paused. "We could always ask Mila?"

Thorin glanced sharply at the dwarfling who maintained an immaculate façade of innocence.

"I'm not asking for help with _dinner." _Soren just shrugged in response.

"We could always _try_ cookingI suppose…" Soren looked anxious at the mere thought of it.

"We?" Thorin replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Aren't girls supposed to be good at this thing?" Soren shot a worried glance at her father who stifled a laugh at the terrified look on her face.

"According to your aunt it takes years of practice and a great deal of patience," Thorin said bemusedly, wondering if it did.

"Well, that counts you out on both counts," The young one quipped garnering a flat look from her father.

"Thanks,"

Thorin slumped in his favourite armchair by the empty hearth and let a long groan. Soren threw herself onto the woven mat at his feet and 'played' with the wooden bear he had carved her when she was a babe. However the intermittent looks she shot towards him every five seconds made any actual play impossible.

"What?" Thorin grunted at last, annoyed with how she kept glancing at him.

"Nothing." A pause. "Why're you so afraid of Aunty Dís?"

Thorin snorted in surprise at the unexpected and rather unwarranted question. "I'm _not _afraid of my _sister." _

"Suuure you're not." Soren said with a giggle. "Everyone's afraid of Aunty Dís."

"Even you?"

Now it was Soren's turn to snort. "Why do think I'm not around when Aunty wants to teach me to cook?"

Thorin barked a laugh before he realised what she'd said. "Wait, Dís' been teaching you to cook?"

"Umm…"

"Kitchen. Now."

~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~

Dís hummed softly to herself as she walked home. She had left her sons behind to help on of the stall owners pack up – at her own insistence of course – and was enjoying a rare moment of solitude. Between the three males of their household and little Soren there was more than enough chaos to go around at all hours of the day and night. That meant that such moments without someone tugging on her skirt or asking her impossible questions or favours were rarer than hens teeth.

Privately though she was also excited to see how Thorin had managed dinner. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was a hopeless cook and she found herself wondering how long it had taken him to suck of that fool male pride of his and go and ask for some help.

So the Lady Dís slipped into her house soundlessly and set down her bags in the entry hall, poking her head into the kitchen which seemed to be smelling… different.

What she saw was cause enough for her to freeze for several good long moments before breaking out into rib-cracking bouts of laughter.

Soren, with a healthy dollop of dough or something on her forehead, spun around in shock, her pale-silver eyes wide and terrified.

Thorin was on the other side of the kitchen, frozen mid-motion as he held a pan upside down, trying to shake loose whatever was within it. Whatever it was, it wasn't coming out.

"W-what _are you doing?" _Dís managed to gasp out between laughs. Her brother's and her niece's faces were taking on nigh on identical meek expressions – something not oft seen anywhere!

"Cooking." Thorin stated, as though that was obvious. He seemed oblivious to the fact that a good portion of his hair was plastered with some sticky substance from root to tip.

"I'm sure you are, brother," Dís tried to school her expression into a calm façade, but cheeky little grins kept poking through.

"It's not my fault this time Aunty!" Soren chimed, grinning toothily under the dough that was gradually making its way down her face.

"It was so!" Thorin said with an outrage look in her direction.

"Wasn't!"

"You said you could cook!" To this Dís snorted, loudly.

"Soren? Cook?" she shook her head slowly. "You might as well ask a mountain to fly."

"And I didn't say I _could _cook," Soren told him, shooting a sharp look at her Aunty. "I just said that Aunty _tried teaching me to cook."_

"After a few attempts she ran and hid each time so I gave up. Which was probably for the best," Dís added as an afterthought.

The King-in-Exile looked about at the mess in total befuddlement. "But-"

"Clean it up, Thorin," Dís commanded. "Come along Soren, I got you some things to try from the market. Thorin, clean. Mop and bucket are in the corner."

Thorin Oakenshield made a strange whine as they left, leaving him to the absolutely destroyed kitchen.

Out in the entry hall Dís grinned cheekily at the dwarfling. "You did well, my young apprentice,"

"I was rather good, wasn't I? He has no idea," Soren smirked, making a show of dusting off her hands. "Did you get me any candy Aunty Dís?"

~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~ ( ) ~

**A/N I hope this turned out how it was intended to… I'm not really a kitchen person; I make salad and that's about it. **

**Please forgive and silly little mistakes! Also pretty please review! I don't care if a month or a year has passed since this chapter; I would still like to know what you think. Constructive criticism accepted.**


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